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BIOGRAPHY
50 Cent was born on July 6th 1975 as Curtis James Jackson III. At an early age he began to sell drugs in the 1980s drug epidemic. He was raised in Southside Jamaica, Queens. His whole back is a shrine dedicated to his past and he says he was a warrior back then and he does not want his son Marquis to be one, He states that he is a product of his environment and its on his back because he has put it behind him. At the age of 12 he becane to sell drugs while his grandparents thought he was at after school activities. When Curtis was in the 10th grade he was arrested for policemen at his highschool because he brought in a gun and he was caught by the metal dedectors. After that he quit trying to hide it from his grand parents and he openly told them that he sold drugs. Alot of people do not know this but as an early teen he started to box at the local gym and even went as far as competting in the Junior Olympics as an amatuer.
On June 29th 1994 he was arrested for selling a vial of cocaine to an undercover cop and then arrested 3 weeks later when they searched his home and seized heroine and crack cocaine. He was able to serve 6 months instead of 6 to 9 years in a prison because he chose to go to a boot camp where he was able to get his GED.
After he was released his life started to take a turn for the better. He started to rap in his friend's basement and was soon introduced to Jam Master Jay from RUN DMC. Jam Master Jay actually produced his first album but it was never released. He was soon getting famous for his lyrics and rappers started to take notice and was about to be in a video with Nas right before he got shot 9 times.
50 Cent was shot 9 times on May 24th 2000 when he was right outside his grandmother's house when he was shot by alleged Darryl Baum who was later killed 3 weeks later. The ironic thing is that Darryl Baum was a bodyguard and a close friend to Mike Tyson and 50 Cent later bought Mike Tyson's home for almost $5,000,000 after his successful first album entitled "Get Rich or Die Tryin."He was in the hospital for weeks and made a full recovery in about 5 months.


Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Gangster Rap
Lyrics: 50 Cent's lyrics are about his struggle when he was a teen and how everyday life was a battlefield to survive and he is a warrior thru war on streets and drugs. His lyrics are hard but some depict a softer side especially his club songs.
Musicality: He has many tempos that are fast and slow depending on the songs. He also has high beats with a slick sound with many instruments and most of them are formed in the studio with computer editing. He is a gangster rapper but also a singer in some hits. I would consider his style to be Rap, Hip Hop, and R&B.
Convention: The versus go with beat and have a smooth flow so it does not sound inturupted or rushed when he is rapping. The bridge in some or most songs are continuous with the same beat and flow. The chorus is the main part of the songs where people get hooked on because he has such great rhymes and sentence structures.
Artistry: His lyrics are very expressive and makes the listener picture in their minds what he is talking about. Many of his songs are about his own struggles and the song's videos are really enjoyable to watch. His songs are not based on true events but they have a true meaning behind them. The moods of his songs vary depending on who is collaborating with on the track. He has many club songs and many gangster songs even some songs with a slow melody for the ladies.
Production: 50 Cent's tracks are great to listen to and it is hard not to bobb your head with the beats and you catch yourself singing along with him. Almost everybody knows a couple songs by him by heart and can resite them when they play. The instrument and vocal volume are good and his voice does not interupt of make the instrument sound awkward.


DISCOGRAPHY
In 2003 he released his first album and it was the most hyped rap album in a decade. He sold 872,000 copies in the first week and his music was the most played on radio in a week in history. He later created his own record label called G Unit Records. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck and they became the group known as G Unit. His second album called "The Massacre" sold 1.4 million copies in the first 4 days. His third album entitled "Curtis" sold 691,000 copies in the first week. He is releasing his 4th album entitled "Before I Self Distruct" on September 8th 2009.
He had a leading role in the movie called "Get Rich Or Die Tryin" in 2005 which was a biography about his early life and the official soundtrack was called "Get Rich Or Die Tryin."His group G Unit sold two albums called "Beg For Mercy" which sold 6 million copies world wide and "Terminate on Sight which sold 102,000 copies in its first released week."

external image 300px-Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin%27.jpgexternal image getrichordietryinposter.jpgexternal image The%2520Massacre.jpgexternal image curtis.jpgexternal image 50%2BCent%2B-%2BBefore%2BI%2BSelf%2BDestruct%2B(2008).jpg

AWARDS

ALL AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Award
Wins
Nominations
American Music Awards
3
7
ASCAP Awards
11
0
AVN Awards
2
4
BET Awards
3
7
BET Hip Hop Awards
1
2
Billboard Music Awards
13
18
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards
7
16
Grammy Awards
0
13
MOBO Awards
3
0
MTV Video Music Awards
2
8
The Source Awards
3
0
Vibe Awards
5
8
World Music Awards
6
0
Totals
Awards won
59
Nominations
83

FAMOUS SONGS
1. "In Da Club"
2. "If I Cant"
3. "Many Men"
4. "P.I.M.P"
5. "21 Questions"
6. "Wanksta"
7. "I Get Money"
8. "I'll Still Kill"
9. "Ayo Technology"
10. "Hustler's Ambition"
11. "Piggy Bank"
12. "Candy Shop"
13. "Disco Inferno"
14. "Just A Lil Bit"
15. "Hate It Or Love It"
16. "Outta Control (remix)"
17. "Window Shopper"
18. "Best Friend"
19. "I'll Whip Ya Head Boy"
20. "Fire"


FAVORITE SONG


Album:
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Song:
In Da Club
Lyrics:
(
Intro)
Go shorty, it's your birthday
We gon' party like it's your birthday
We gon' sip on Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a [...], it's not your birthday

(Chorus X 2)
Find me in da club, bottle full of bub
Ma, I got what you need if you need to feel a buzz
I'm into having sex, I ain't into makin' love
So come give me a hug, if you into gettin' rubbed

(Verse 1)
When I pull up out front, you see the Benz on dubs
When I roll 20-deep, it's always drama in da club
Now that I roll with Dre, everybody show me love
When you sell like Eminem, you get plenty of groupie love
But homie ain't nothin' changed, bro's down, G's up
I see Xzibit in the cut, "Hey man, roll them trees up"
Watch how I move, you'll mistake me for a playa or pimp
Been hit with a few shells, but I don't walk with a limp
In the hood and the ladies saying, "50, you hot"
They like me, I want 'em to love me like they love 'Pac
But holla in New York, fo sho, to tell you I'm loco
The plan is to put the rap game in a chokehold
I'm fully focused man, my money on my mind
Got a mill' out the deal, and I'm still on the grind
Now shorty says she feelin' my style, she feelin' my flow
Her girlfriend with her, they bi, and they ready to go

(Chorus X 2)

(Bridge)
My flow, my show, brought me the dough
That bought me all my fancy things
My crib, my car, my jewels, my crews
Look homie, I done came up and I ain't changed

(Verse 2)
And you should love it, way more than you hate it
Homie you mad? I thought that you'd be happy I made it
I'm that cat by the bar, toastin' to the good life
Moved out the hood right, you tryin' to pull me back, right?
When my dogs get to pumpin' in da club, it's on
I wink my eye at your chick, if she smile, she gone
If the roof on fire, man, just let it burn
If the talk ain't 'bout money homie, I ain't concerned
I'm a tell you what Banks told me: "Just go 'head, switch the styles up"
And if they hate, then let 'em hate, but watch the money pile up
Or we can go upside they head with a bottle of bub
Come on, they know where we be

(Chorus X 2)

(Outro)
Don't try to act like you don't know who we be, neither
We in da club all the time, so pop, pop off
Shady/Aftermath


CRITICAL EVALUATION OF PERFORMER
50 Cent has made one of the biggest impact on Hip Hop in history and has sold more copies in his first album than some rappers do in their entire careers. He still has alot of years left to keep producing hits and our generation will keep listening to his songs because of their sound, plain and simple, 50 Cent knows how to make a hit and i think my son would listen to him if I was a father years from now. He will leave his mark as one of the best rappers ever and I think he is already is the best alive. He has sold about 20 Million copies in the US alone so far. He has countless #1 hits on the charts and everyone knows who he is. He is here to stay for a long time to come.

SOURCES

http://coachpr.com/G-UNIT_logo.jpg
www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6831973/a/Massacre.htm
www.50cent.com/
thisis50.com//
www.myspace.com/50cent
http://www.50centonline.com/lyrics.php
icawebclub.com
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2169297/6864341
movies.about.comwww.coolfer.comhippopmusic.blogspot.com
http://www.lyrics007.com/50%20Cent%20Lyrics/In%20Da%20Club%20(Edited%20Version)%20Lyrics.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_50_Cent_awards